Making your own yogurt is easy, fun, better for you and better for the environment. Plus, if you’re like us and eat a lot of yogurt, it better for your bank account too! And, after you make yogurt once, you can continue to make yogurt from your existing batch because you have the live cultures you need — all you’ll need to buy is fresh milk after the initial batch.
Yogurt makes a delicious and healthy breakfast or snack, especially topped with some fresh fruit and granola, but it can also be used to add tangy creaminess to soups, as a healthy alternative to sour cream, or as the base for marinades and salad dressings. Many yogurts you buy in the grocery store contain funky chemicals and additives, and even many of the organic brands contain things like pectin and other thickening agents, plus are usually loaded with a ton of sugar. If you make your own you are totally in control of what goes into your yogurt, and thus, what goes into your body.
Since homemade yogurt does tend to be less thick than the store-bought kind, I do add milk powder to thicken it, but this is solely a matter of preference. Similarly, you can use whole, raw, pasteurized, low-fat, or skim milk for this recipe, but I like the results of raw whole milk the best. As for your starter yogurt, any high-quality plain yogurt will work, just make sure that it contains live, active cultures. Some health food stores even carry yogurt starter cultures if you really want to go from scratch, but these can be hard to find and using a ready-made yogurt yields equally pleasing results.
What you’ll need:
– A large pot
– A clean container in which to store your yogurt — I used glass mason jars but you can certainly use a plastic container, just make sure that it is super-clean — you don’t want any bad bacteria growing in there with the good yogurt bacteria
– A meat or candy thermometer
– 1 quart of milk, preferably organic
– 1-2 Tbsp. organic, plain yogurt containing active cultures
– 1/4 c. powdered milk (optional)
Directions:
1. Place the milk into a large pot over medium heat. Stir often.
2. Without boiling milk, bring temperature up to 180F. (This is achieved by heating milk slowly over a longer period of time — to get refrigerated milk up to 180 it should take you 25-35 minutes)
3. Remove milk from heat
4. In a separate bowl combine your yogurt with your powdered milk, if you are using it. Mix well.
5. When milk has cooled to 115F pour off about 1 cup of it and add to your yogurt. Stir until an even consistency is achieved
6. Add yogurt/milk mixture back into pot with the remaining 115F milk
7. Transfer your mixture into your clean container(s)
8. Turn your oven to the “Warm” setting, or so that pilot light alone is on — the ideal temperature for making yogurt is 95-105F
9. Place your container(s) into a tray with an inch or two of water in it and place in your warmed oven
10. Let yogurt develop in a warm place for 4-7 hours, checking occasionally to make sure environment has maintained the proper temperature. For milder flavored yogurt develop less (4-5 hours), for tangier, and thicker, yogurt, develop longer.
11. Cover securely and refrigerate. Will keep 1-2 weeks.
*If you’d like to make flavored yogurt, simply combine 1 c. fresh fruit with 1/4 c. honey and bring to a boil on the stove, cook until fruit softens and begins to break down. Stir well. Once cool stir into your yogurt.
theindiehomemaker 